# The 1979 Somali constitutional referendum

> Somalia's 1979 constitutional referendum: the official result, what the constitution set up, how it differed from 1961, the 1984 amendments, and its fate after 1991.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/history/somali-constitutional-referendum-1979/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## In short

"In August 1979, a new Constitution was approved by popular referendum," the Inter-Parliamentary Union recorded ([IPU, *Chronicle of Parliamentary Elections* XIV, 1979–80](http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/SOMALIA_1979_E.PDF)). The CIA's *World Factbook* dates the constitution "25 August 1979, presidential approval 23 September 1979" ([*The World Factbook 1990*, Somalia](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_World_Factbook_%281990%29/Somalia)).

"The constitution of 1979 provided for a presidential system under which the president served as both head of state and head of government" ([Library of Congress, *Somalia: A Country Study*, "Constitution"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/67.htm)). For the state it governed, see [the Somali Democratic Republic, 1969–1991](/en/history/somali-democratic-republic-1969-1991/).

## The result

The official figures, from the African Elections Database ([as cited by Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Somali_constitutional_referendum)):

| Choice | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| For | 3,597,592 | 99.78% |
| Against | 7,898 | 0.22% |
| Total | 3,605,490 | |

## Background

- **After the coup.** "Following the 1969 general elections, Parliament was dissolved later in the year and the military took command of the country." In 1976 the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP) was formed as "the country's sole legal political party" ([IPU](http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/SOMALIA_1979_E.PDF)). See [the Siad Barre era](/en/history/siad-barre-era-1969-1991/).
- **Outside pressure.** After the [Ogaden War](/en/history/ogaden-war-1977/), "Western countries were also pressuring the regime to liberalize economic and political life" ([Library of Congress, "Somalia's difficult decade, 1980–90"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/27.htm)).

## What the constitution set up

From the Library of Congress ([*Somalia: A Country Study*, "Constitution" and "Legislature"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/67.htm)):

- **The President.** Head of state and head of government, choosing and chairing the Council of Ministers. The President was first to be "elected to a six-year, renewable term of office by a two-thirds majority vote of the legislature".
- **Powers.** The President could "conduct foreign affairs, declare war, invoke emergency powers, serve as commander in chief of the armed forces, and appoint one or more vice presidents, the president of the Supreme Court, up to six members of the national legislature, and the members of the Council of Ministers".
- **The legislature.** A single-chamber People's Assembly of 177 members, 171 elected and 6 appointed, serving five years ([Library of Congress, "Legislature"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/68.htm)). The President could dissolve it early.
- **Voting.** "Somalia had universal suffrage for persons over eighteen years of age, but women did not play a significant role in politics."

## Compared with 1961

"The constitution of 1979 resembled the constitution of 1961, also approved in a nationwide referendum." "The main difference between the two documents concerned executive power. The constitution of 1961 had provided for a parliamentary democracy, with the prime minister and Council of Ministers (cabinet) being drawn from the membership of the legislature" ([Library of Congress, "Constitution"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/67.htm)). See [the 1960 constitution](/en/history/1960-constitution/).

## What followed

- **December 1979.** The first People's Assembly was elected from SRSP lists. See [the 1979 parliamentary election](/en/history/somali-parliamentary-election-1979/).
- **1984.** Amendments, also approved by referendum, made the presidency a seven-year office chosen by direct vote (Library of Congress, "Constitution"). See [the 1984 parliamentary election](/en/history/somali-parliamentary-election-1984/) and [the 1986 presidential election](/en/history/somali-presidential-election-1986/).
- **After 1991.** The provisional government planned a new constitution, but "those provisions of the constitution of 1979 that had not been specifically voided by the interim government remained in force" (same source). See [the Interim Government of 1991](/en/history/interim-government-of-somalia-1991/) and [Somalia's constitutions](/en/institutions/constitution-of-somalia/).

## Who suffered?

- **Opponents of the government,** who had no legal party: the SRSP was "the country's sole legal political party" (IPU), and critics "were not permitted to run" in the Assembly elections that followed (Library of Congress, "Legislature").

## Sources differ

- **The result.** The figures above come from the African Elections Database as cited by Wikipedia. The IPU and Library of Congress sources linked here give no vote count for the referendum.

## Read the primary sources yourself

- Library of Congress, *Somalia: A Country Study* (1993): ["Constitution"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/67.htm); ["Legislature"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/68.htm); ["Somalia's difficult decade, 1980–90"](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/27.htm).
- Inter-Parliamentary Union, *Chronicle of Parliamentary Elections* XIV (1979–80), Somalia: [PDF](http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/SOMALIA_1979_E.PDF).
- *The World Factbook 1990*, Somalia: [text](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_World_Factbook_%281990%29/Somalia).

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